The Water War
by MikaelaLovesMusic
Summary: When it's the Seniors against the Juniors in a fight with 3,000 water balloons, who will win? Can a water war bring Sammy and Casey together? And what about Heather? Will she get her revenge? Two-shot, maybe a three-shot later. Takes place after SK & CHC.
1. Let the Games Begin

**Well, to celebrate the recent release of Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher (woot, woot!) I have decided to write a celebratory oneshot. Unfortunately, my mom won't let me order it online because she is a cheapy and thinks Amazon is a rip-off. Ahem, I beg to differ. Sammy Keyes is worth it. But until she gives or I figure out some other evil scheme, I will be writing a few oneshots here and there, for Sammy Keyes and maybe some other books. I don't have as much time anymore, but I'll try!**

**And what better way to celebrate the book than with an epic Water Balloon Fight? Yep, that's right, folks. You saw it here. Sammy Keyes in her first ever water balloon fight. This takes place in Sammy's 8th grade year, basically a little after Cold Hard Cash.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sammy Keyes or any of the characters here.**

Santa Martinians are crazy. We're psycho, at the very least. It's not an overstatement to say that we're _completely nuts_.

Yeah, some of us are a little crazier than others. (cough, cough, Heather Acosta) I'm probably included in that lot. But there's a whole lot beyond me and Heather, let me tell you.

It all started the day Brandon McKenze and a gazillion other of his closest friends started posting signs around William Rose and Santa Martina High. The caption?

"Water Balloon Fight".

Like I said, Santa Martinians are crazy, okay. This was actually _normal_. But still. Water Balloon fighting as a recreational sport?

It sounded like a blast.

Of course, I told Marissa who told Brandon that I would be going. And then pretty much half of the 8th grade class, and a lot of the High School class told Brandon they would go. I was dying to find out if Casey was going, but what was I supposed to do? Call him? The thought of it gave me chills. Nervous chills.

I just so happened to get "lucky" to run into him while I was cruising down Broadway with Marissa, me on my skateboard and Marissa on her bike. I literally _ran _into him. As in I was getting distracted by Marissa telling me the story of how Mr. Vince got pantsed momentarilly in class. And how can you not get distracted by _that_? The thought of Mr. Vince getting pantsed is just too funny for words.

But anyway, I wasn't looking where I was going, and just like that, bam! I crashed. My head hit his chin with an embarassing _clink _that made my whole head spin and left me sitting on the asphalt, looking like a moron trying to get the world to stop moving.

"Sammy! Are you okay?" Casey asked in a concerned tone that made my stupid heart flutter a little bit.

"Yeah," I replied back slowly, trying to force myself out of the drunken mode and back into reality. So far, it wasn't working. I felt my left elbow, which was slightly bruised. "I'm okay," I lied.

"No Sammy, you're not!" Marissa fretted. "We should wash the bruise," she suggested.

"I'm fine, really! It's just a little, er, _graze._" I insisted. The situation was starting to get more embarassing every second that passed.

"Doesn't look like it," Casey observed. "Come on, let's at least wash it off." Then, he took my hand. The warm feeling that filled my body somewhat made up for the humiliation of the moment.

Marissa was probably having a spaz attack at the hand-holding thing, but I didn't dare to look back. I just let Casey pull me into the nearby supermarket and we gathered at the drinking fountain, washing away the crumbly asphalt that had gathered in my skin. Marissa asked the store clerk for a band-aid, and we walked out of the supermarket.

"So, what were you guys up to?" Casey asked. He wasn't holding my hand anymore, but I could still feel the tingly warmth on my fingers.

"Just cruising," I said. "You?"

"I was on my way to Brandon's. He needs help filling up the water balloons for tomorrow," Casey said.

So he was going! My face flushed as I said, "I take it you'll be going?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "You are right? It won't be the same without you."

I smiled back. "Totally. It's going to be fun," I said.

"Yeah. Although... I would watch out," he warned. I frowned slightly.

"Why?"

"It's Heather... she said she wants to "kick your butt" in this thing," he said disapprovingly.

I tried to laugh it off. "And is this supposed to be a surprise?"

He laughed back, but it was a nervous laugh. "I guess you're right. But still- keep an eye out for her. Heather's like... dynamite. She likes to go out with a bang."

"Nice comparison. But don't worry about me. I'll be fine. When have I ever succumbed to Heather?"

He laughed, this time for real. "Alright, alright. You'll be fine. I can tell." He laughed again, before his facial expression changed. "Crap- what time is it? I promised Brandon I'd be there at three. What time is it?"

"It's three-thirty," Marissa answered. It's weird, but I had sort of forgotten that she was there.

"Gotta go! See you tomorrow, at the fight!" Casey called out before hopping on his skateboard and speeding down the sidewalk.

I might've looked back at him a little _too _long because as soon as Casey left, Marissa started squealing and gushing.

"Oh my gosh, that was so cute! He held your hand!" she gushed.

I tried to brush it off, but I guess I was sort of spazzing out about it too. "Yeah, well, it was nothing," I said nonchalantly.

Before I knew it, it was Saturday, the day of the water balloon fight. I threw on a t-shirt, cutoff jean shorts and my high tops. This was what I would be wearing to war.

The truth was, I actually hadn't thought of Heather at all since I ran into Casey. Heather's done a lot of stupid stuff, and sometimes they work, but most of the times they don't.

The fight would be held at Liberty Park, which was basicallly a large patch of browning grass, awkwardly placed trees, deteriorating benches, a suspcious-looking pond in the center and a whole lot of bushes and scrubs. Not the most beautiful place in the world, but it was the perfect venue for a water balloon fight.

And being Brandon McKenze, he was able to pull out his loads of cash and reserve the park for the whole day. He even had it fenced off and everything. When I arrived there, dozens of high schoolers and some middle schoolers were already waiting there. Brandon stood on top of one of the benches with a bull horn.

I got with Marissa, Holly and Dot, who were towards the front.

"Thanks for coming, guys. You all know why you're out here. I have declared war against the Junior class of Santa Martina High-"

Half of the people in the crowd erupted into cheer.

"-for taking the well-deserved parking spots in the Senior lot. Obviously, the only way to resolve this matter is to fight!"

Everyone in the crowd cheered. So that's what this was all about! I hadn't bothered to do my research- I had sort of just expected the Santa Martina crazy to be the cause of it. But the parking lot issue made a whole lot more sense. Brandon was a Senior, and the most popular one at that. His normal crowd of girls still surrounded him.

"But, to divide the teams equally, we'll have the Juniors gather on one side and the Seniors gather on the other side. We'll pick the remainder of the players one by one, taking turns. And, I guess we can let the Juniors pick first, since we're so obviously going to kick their butts, right guys?"

The Senior crowd cheered in answer.

Once the Junior and Senior classes separated, it was easier to find people. I saw Heather among the crowd, wearing Daisy Duke shorts and and a scoop neck tank top. She was one of the first ones picked by the Junior class, where she had some older guy friends. _I _was one of the first ones picked by Brandon, who told me that they need my speed. After I threw on the blue colored t-shirt, for the Senior team, I joined Casey, who was also picked by Brandon.

"Wow, this is disappointing," I said to him when I joined the Senior group.

He frowned slightly. "Why is that?"

"I was really looking forward to pounding you with a water balloon," I teased. "But now we're on the same team," I said jokingly.

He smiled. "Doesn't that suck?"

Marissa, Dot and Holly joined us a few minutes later, with big smiles on their faces. I was glad we were on the same team.

"Alright, now that everyone's on a team, let me explain the rules. Anybody who intentionally hurts someone else is disqualified, and the team that is the least soaked after thirty minutes wins the game!" Brandon called out through his blowhorn. "There are 3,000 water balloons throughout the park, in black bins. Okay, now that that's all explained, get on your side of the park and LET THE WAR BEGIN!" he called out. Everyone cheered, including me.

Once we were on our side, the horn sounded again. That meant it was time to start. It was time to play.

Since the park was big, it took me a while before I could actually find some green-jerseyed Junior team members. I scooped up two water balloons on the way in my hands. I leaped behind a tree once I finally spotted one. It was time for an ambush.

I sent one flying at a group of giggling Junior girls and darted back behind the tree again. The giggling stopped as they cried out.

Once they were distracted by the girl I had just soaked, I sent another one, this time, straight into the girl's friends. They cried out again, not knowing where the balloons had come from but being too girly to actually come and find me. Once I felt that they were sufficiently soaked, I darted across the park, narrowly missing a few balloons being thrown at me. I smiled to myself. I had soaked a few girls and I was still as dry as the Sahara desert.

But the balloons that were being thrown at me were awfully close. I ducked behind a bush and started to climb up the huge tree on my right, dragging a small black bucket of some water balloons up with me.

Once I had gotten up there, I took a breath and looked out. This was the perfect place to be during the fight. I could see everything from up here. Better yet, I could hit everything from up here.

As I was relishing at this thought, I felt breath down my neck and a single uttered word. "Hey."

I jumped about a thousand feet before calming down when I realized that it was a blue shirt, a Senior team member. Not only a Senior team member but-

My eyes traveled up to the face. Casey.

"Hey," I said back, smiling and pretending that I hadn't just made a fool of myself. "So you had the same idea."

"Yep. This spot is great. You don't know how many people I've hit so far," he said.

I grinned. "I can't say I'm not impressed. Well, every shady person needs partner in crime, and here I am. Armed and dangerous," I said, showing him the black bucket of water balloons that I had hung on one of the branches.

He grinned back. "Well let's get to it, Robin."

"Hey! I'm Batman. You're Robin," I protested. "Eh, nevermind. There are too many dry people out there. Let's get 'em soaked." I smiled mischeviously.

"You got it," he said.

I grabbed two water balloons in my hands and carefully threw a few at some unsuspecting green shirts. The battle below was getting pretty intense. Some people looked as if they had just swam the Pacific Ocean and back.

I was actually having a good time. Everything was going great, Casey was here, and I was still dry.

But where was Heather, and why hadn't she attacked me yet?

**Well, I have just inadverdently made this a two-shot, maybe even a three-shot. It was longer that I expected it to be. But give me your feedback- tell me if I should continue!**


	2. Mystery Bombs

**Hey guys! Finally updating! I'll try to get the third part up as soon as I can, but I've got a soccer tournament this weekend so I'm not sure. And I've been absorbed with watching the Giants game, 'cause they're doing so freaking amazing! Phillies, you're goin' down today! Giants rule, you can't deny it. And since Posey is the catcher and one of the best on the team, I should at least celebrate another one of my favorite catchers, Sammy. Who also happens to be the best on the team.**

I scanned as far as I could around the park, but couldn't see Heather at all. And I figured that I'm up in a tree with Casey, pelting some older high school kids with water balloons, Heather's not here. What could be better? Might as well take advantage of this fabulous situation while I could.

So Casey and I became a team, hitting unsuspecting Juniors, laughing. I'm not a pitcher, I'm actually a catcher, but I can throw pretty dang good when I wanted to. It was a little awkward in the tree, since there wasn't a lot of room, so I was really close to Casey.

My knee bumped into the pocket of his sweatshirt. "Sorry! I- wait, what's in your pocket?" I asked when my knee met with the end of something sharp.

He laughed, which made me even more confused. To clear up my confusion, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a few things. "Billy was mad that I forgot to bring him a kitten when I went over to his house so we could walk to the park. A kitten, out of all the things- well, you know Billy. He was just joking around. But anyway, he threw all this random stuff that was on the floor of his bedroom at me as I was leaving," He laughed again. "-and his bedroom is a mess, which probably doesn't surprise you."

Casey showed me the things Billy threw at him, a pink My Little Pony Recorder, one of those stress balls that adults use during their midlife crisis, and a package of M&Ms.

"Well that's Billy for you," I laughed. "Keeps the most random stuff, says the most random stuff. You know him."

He laughed. "Billy's awesome. I just wish his awesomeness was a little less... violent," he said, rubbing a light bruise on his shoulder where the My Little Pony Recorder probably hit him. But he was still smiling, anyway.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a humongous balloon flew right at us. We ducked just in time, but the balloon smashed to the branch behind us.

I gaped at the splotch the balloon had left. It was red, a deep crimson that made me shudder. Not only was it red, but it looked kind of... blood red.

As carefully as I could, I climbed up to the spot where the balloon had hit the tree. Which was pretty stupid, I had realized later, because if the balloon hit that exact spot, how could I be sure it wasn't going to repeat the action? But I wasn't exactly thinking about that at the time. I was to mesmerized, in a horrible way, at the oozing red liquid that was seeping down the tree.

Casey repeated my thoughts. "No way. That can't be blood," he said, shaking his head. But we both knew that it looked way too much like blood to be doubted.

Before I could stop myself, I did another stupid thing: I leaned over to sniff the splotch. It didn't have any distinct smell, but it might've been because the layer was surprisingly thin. Most of the liquid had dropped below.

"Where did that come from?" I wondered aloud, still in shock.

Casey sighed. "I think I can answer that question."

I climbed back, not as nimbly, anxious to see who the perpetrator was. I wasn't even halfway surprised when I saw that Heather's taunting face looked back up at me.

"Hey loser. Having fun?" Heather said, grinning back evilly.

"I was, until I remembered that you were still among the living," I shot back angrily.

Heather smiled again, a smile that reminded me of the Cheshire Cat. "Good to see that I evoke such... positive emotions from you. Did you get my gift?"

"Yes, I did, it was beautiful, now good bye! Sayonara! Adios!" I waved her away. I knew she wasn't going to give up that easy, but it was worth a shot.

"Aw, saying 'bye to me early? The fun was just beginning!" she taunted.

I sighed. "Heather, I'm tired of playing games, what's the catch?"

Her voice dropped about a thousand degrees colder. "The catch is that you're stuck up in that tree, and now I get to hit you with these balloons-" she gestured to a trashcan full of ginormous balloons similar to the blood one she threw up earlier. The other ballons were different shades, but not in better colors- brown, green, yellow, more red. "-with this handy catupult," she finished, showing me a fancy shmancy cannon-like contraption that was already loaded with another balloon, this time brown.

"You know, there's a such thing as getting out of the tree?" I pointed out, attempting to foil her evil scheme.

She laughed coolly. "No. There isn't," she motioned to some Junior guys, that were arranging potted plants around the tree. I took me about a second to look closer and realize that they weren't harmless plants, they were rosebushes. The way they were arranged was clever. Every way you could get out was blocked by a rosebush. It would be hard to get out of the tree unscathed.

"Monet, Tenille," she ordered, observing her perfect manicure. "It's time to get to work."

I watched as Monet and Tenille climbed out of the shadows, wearing identical mini-skirts and different colored tube tops. Their entrance didn't surprise me. Heather doesn't go anywhere without her cronies, just like a witch doesn't go anywhere without her warts.

Heather grinned as she went over to the catapult. I started climbing before I she could even notice.

"Sammy! Up here!" Casey said, helping me up the tree. I took his hand and together we climbed up as far as we could. When we got to the top, we stopped and sat down on the branches to catch our breaths.

"Your sister is crazy!" I breathed.

Casey sighed. "I know." He picked at the bark of the tree, muttering how he couldn't believe that he was even related to her. "But what do we do now?" he said, putting his hands into his sweatshirt pocket.

"Ouch!" I cried considerably loud after I had put my hands on a sharp branch. A blood hovered in droplets on my palm.

"Is it bleeding?" Casey asked, in that concerned tone that made my heart beat a little faster.

I nodded. "Yeah. But it's fine," I said, wiping my hand on my shorts. Great. Grams would love that. "We need to get out of here," I cried again.

"How? We're trapped," Casey pointed out.

"I don't know. I just hope Heather doesn't see us- OUCH!" I cried again as I placed my bleeding palm on a smooth branch. I looked at it closely. Little prickles hovered between the blood.

Casey held my hand gently in his. "There's something in there. We should get it out before we do anything else," he said, beginning to slowly pull the evil little daggers out of my flesh.

"Thanks," I said, sighly softly as the little stinging things pulled out from my skin.

"No problem. Now that they're out, though, we should get down to business," he pointed out.

"Yeah, we should," I agreed, feeling much better. "How can we get out of here?"

My question hung in the air as we both thought of plans to get out of here. Our concentration was broken by a brown balloon smashed up against the branches below.

"Whatever we do, we have to do it fast. Eventually, Heather's going to have to stop missing and we'll be pelted my those mystery bombs," I said, not bothering to wonder what was inside of the brown balloon. Probably another freaky concoction, courtesy of the witch herself.

"You're right," Casey grimaced as another balloon, a red one, smashed onto the branches below us.

"What is she do-" I was cut short by another balloon, this time green, smashing just above my head. A hideous smell erupted, and I gagged slightly as Casey lead me to the right side of the tree.

"You can't hide from me forever!" Heather's evil little voice screeched. Another green balloon came flying, grazing my arm and exploding across it. That same hideous smell flew up my nose. I wanted to throw up. It would be bonus points my puke hit Heather. I smiled a little at the possibility.

But my arm stunk like the alley on the side of Bob's Burgers, which has a stench so bad, the neighborhood has been trying to get it condemned for years. I couldn't help but wonder if the green stuff was from that alley. I haven't actually been suicidal yet and gone in there, but there was probably a chance that the stuff that grows there is green. I snickered as I tried to picture Heather going down there.

Shuddering at the smell, I picked a leaf off the tree and wiped the goo off, being careful not to let my fingers tough the nasty stuff. Once it was all off, I dropped the leaf below, slightly satisifed when I heard Monet scream because the leaf had touched her.

I let Casey help me further and further to the side. "What are you looking for?" I asked when I noticed that he kept on looking to the sides of the tree.

"A way out," he answered, still intently scanning the perimeter.

"Find any?"

"Not yet. But how's you're hand?"

"Perfect. Thanks to you," I answered.

"I'm sorry about all of this. She's my sister- I should be able to somewhat control her," he sighed, looking down again.

"It's not your fault. I don't think even a millitary dictator could control her," I added, trying to take away his upset tone.

He laughed a little, but it was pained and forced. "I guess," he said quietly, reaching into his sweatshirt pocket again. He stopped. "I have an idea."

I perked up a little. Finally, we could possibly get out! A red balloon smashed at our feet. Yep, we definitely needed to get outta here. "How?" I asked anxiously.

"It's a little risky, but I think it's our only chance," he said, the tone of his voice coming back to normal. "Don't laugh when I tell you it," he smiled, a twinkle in his chocolaty eyes.

"I won't laugh," I said solemnly, holding my hand up in promise.

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now tell me already, would ya?" I smiled jokingly.

He held up the My Little Pony Recorder, which had the green light on indicating that it had been recording. "Don't underestimate the power of Billy, don't underestimate the power of My Little Pony. 'Cause we're gonna get out of here," he laughed, grinning.

I smiled back misheviously once I realized his plan.

"Let's ditch this joint."


	3. Escape!

**Heck, yeah! Eat that, Rangers! What can I say? I'm celebrating an amazing 11-7 win by the Giants. Even better, a 9-0 score with the most amazing 8th innning I ever saw!**

**And what better way to celebrate than with an update? The story ends here, hope you like it!**

**I'm thinking about doing a Halloween special if I have time. It depends. My brain is still being wracked for ideas. And it's also being distracted by my plans for my costume. It's going to be epic- I'm going to be a fortune teller with the tarot cards and everything. What are you guys being?**

Casey explained the plan to me quickly before showing me the gap in the rosebushes. It would take more than that gap to get us out of here in one healthy piece, and that's where Billy's My Little Pony Recorder came in.

I helped Casey break off a weak branch on the tree, out of the demon's (a.k.a. Heather's) sight. We wrapped the branches up nice and tight, so that they would make a lot of noise. I wrapped my jacket around the bundle and Casey did the same with his sweatshirt. Before taking off his sweatshirt, he stuffed the stress ball and the pack of M&Ms in his jean pocket.

Then I carefully positioned the branches above the tree, just above some particularly prickly looking rosebushes. My heart was in knots as I tried not to think about the mangled pieces I would be in if I lost my footing just a _tiny _bit and slipped down.

"Got it in position?" Casey whispered quietly. Heather was probably too far down to hear us, but there was no way we were taking any chances.

I nodded nervously, sucking in my breath. It was showtime.

With shaky fingers, I pressed the playback button on the My Little Pony recorder and tucked it back in my jacket pocket. I waved my high-top over the bundle of branches and lightly pushed it out of the tree.

I heard a loud crash, Heather scream a scream that reminded me of a savage battle cry, and before I had time to take it all in, Casey was helping me to the other side of the tree, near the gap.

_"Ouch!" _I heard myself say over the playback. This was it. We had to be quick. Or else... I didn't even want to think about what Heather would do to us if she caught up. Probably chop me into tiny little minced pieces and make a Sammy Stew.

_"Is it bleeding?" _Casey's voice said over recording. Warmth spread through my body at his concerned tone. I was getting distracted again, but I focused on my footing to pop back to reality.

_"Yeah. But it's fine. We need to get out of here!" _My recording said. I continued to the other side of the tree. When Casey and I got to the gap, we jumped, seemingly into the rosebushes. But there the gap was, good enough to jump into but still left those thorns only about a foot away from your skin. I sighed silently in relief as Casey cursed softly under his breath.

"What happened?" I whispered as quietly as I could.

He seemed to shake it off, like it was no big deal. "It's nothing," he said, hiding his arm behind his back. The action was too awkward to be ignored.

"Let me see your hand."

He shook his head again. "It's fine. Let's just keep going," he insisted. I'm sure it was hurt, but he seemd to be mostly okay and Heather was probably getting closer and closer as we spoke.

"Okay. Let's go," I shrugged. Together we wove through those dumb rosebushes as carefully as we could. I gasped when one grazed my skin, leaving a trail of red. But I couldn't expect to get out of here completely unscathed. That was almost too much to ask.

So we ran. I ran like the world was caving in and my shoes were on fire. Heather must've picked up on it because I heard her voice far behind us screech and scream and order Monet and Tenille to go after us. Send those beauty queens after us? It was almost laughable.

But Monet and Tenille can be rough when they want to be. They pushed far ahead of Heather, who was too busy yelling orders to get a head start. Pretty soon, they were getting pretty close. I easlily dodged free range water balloons that were being thrown as I dashed through the park. But Monet and Tenille were on a mission of death. They wouldn't be as easy to escape.

"Keep going! I'll catch up!" I screamed to Casey as I spotted a tower of empty buckets. Casey dashed off as I positioned myself near the buckets and sent them flying at Monet and Tenille with one powerful kick. They screeched and squeaked like little hamsters when the buckets hit them. But they were thrown off and that was all that mattered.

I was almost out of breath but I managed to catch up with Casey. We were nearing the pond when...

Heather popped out of nowhere, her eyes trained to kill.

She didn't wield any more of her mystery bombs, but I could tell she was just planning on using her plain old fists. Anything to give me black eye or a bloody nose. Both, if she got lucky.

I looked at Casey, whose eyes were panicked, too, at the sight of his sister, wild and on the loose. Heather's flaming hair popped out from every angle, only adding to the illusion (or reality) of her rage.

I had to think fast, or I would be minced meat in a couple of second. Desperately, I called out to Casey, "Give me the stress ball!"

It sounded really weird at the time, but it was something only Casey would understand. Without a word, he tossed the lightweight ball to me and I caught it using my catcher skills. We were getting closer to the pond, which meant that soon we'd be out of the park-

Heather got closer until she was practically breathing on me.

I gripped the stress ball, squeezing it a few times before thinking like Marissa and sending a fast ball straight into Heather's barely clothed chest.

Maybe it was surprise, or maybe it was fate, but somehow, Heather lost her balance. Off a measly stress ball. Her face showed a supreme look of surprise that if I had a camera I would take a picture of it and save it for days when I just needed to laugh.

Her arms were everywhere in their quest for balance, but eventually gravity got the best of her and she began to fall.

It was weird watching it, but it was all in slow-motion. Like something you would see in a movie.

Heather toppled over, falling down, falling and-

Falling right into the pond.

Yes, right into the pond.

Kodak moment right here. The falling was hilarious, but the actual in-the-pond part was even funnier. I'm usually not this cruel, but when a girl forces you into a tree purely just to hit you with balloons of crap, what else can you do but laugh when she finally gets what she deserves?

Heather was now screeching and screaming and saying my name like bloody murder. I sort of just stood there, smiling stupidly. It took her a while to stop squirming and figure out how to get out of the pond, but when she did, she swung at my ankle, which I nimbly avoided.

"I HATE YOU!" she screeched, splashing water at me. It was just a few drops, and Heather knew that. This only seemed to make her even more mad.

By now, the upperclassmen had gathered around the pond, pointing, some laughing, all gossiping. The great Heather Acosta has fallen. Into the pond.

I was broken out of my daze when Casey slid up to me and slipped his hand into mine. He was actually holding my hand! It took me a while to remember to breathe.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he whispered into my ear, his hot breath making my ears go red. Augh. My body always reacted in the stupidest ways around Casey Acosta.

I smiled back, letting him lead me over the fence and out onto the streets. When walked into a business office, I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

He grinned. "You still want to watch the show, don't you?" He reached into the elevator that we had just hopped into and pressed the button of the 10th floor. How did he know this place so well?

But he answered the question before I could even ask it. "My uncle works here," he explained.

I nodded as he lead me up a flight of stairs from the 10th floor. When we finally reached the end of the staircase, Casey pushed the door opened and I was met with a gust of fresh Santa Martina smog.

But the view... well, it made up for whatever the top floor lacked in air quality. You could see practically all of the city. More importantly, it had a direct view of the park. So close that you could almost see the scowl on Heather's face.

Heather had gotten out of the pond, but she was soaking wet and still cursing. Just as she got out, the bell chimed, telling us that the war was over. Brandon got on the park bench again and picked up his megaphone. "Now it's time to tally the score!" Brandon said exictedly.

After a long time of counting, Brandon finally exclaimed through his microphone, "The seniors win!"

I felt like cheering, too. We had actually won! We wouldn't get prizes, but the pride was good enough.

Casey held up his hand, the one he was holding in mine, to give me a high-five. I willingly obliged. As long as he wouldn't let go of my left hand, anything was good for me.

Casey fiddled with the stress ball in his hand. "So this is the _real _terrorist, isn't it? Or is it still you?" he teased.

"Eh. I think it will always be me. Besides Heather, of course," I replied with a shrug. "But Billy's little 'presents' really saved us out there."

"Ah, Billy. He got everything right," Casey pointed out.

I grinned. "He did, didn't he? He must be some sort of psychic or something."

"But only one thing hasn't been used... yet," Casey said.

"What's that?"

"These," Casey said, holding out the M&Ms pack. He ripped the bag open, popped one into his mouth and held them out for me.

"Want one?" he asked.

"Sure," I said, picking a blue one out of the back. The chocolate meleted in my mouth with one bite. Chocolate. Just like I had always thought Casey's eyes were like. His eyes, which I was staring into right now like a-

I quickly pulled away, stopping myself from staring too long. "How's your hand?" I asked, trying to distract myself from those eyes that sucked you in like a vacuum.

"Its fine," he said, still looking into my eyes. How could I think when he kept doing stuff like this?

"Let me see it," I insisted, tearing my eyes away from his. I reached for his hand and saw the blood that lined it.

"It's nothing." He said, clotting away the blood on the soft stone that we were sitting on. "See? All better."

"Really?" I asked dubiously.

"Well, almost," he said cryptically, still looking at me. At first I thought he was going to say something about me making a big deal of everything and causing all of these problems, but what Casey did next surprised me most of all.

He took my chin in his fingers, leaning towards me as he slowly and softly pressed his lips to mine.

Casey's kiss was sweeter than chocolate. Sweeter than anything. It numbed me, warmed me, made me feel like a big happy orb of sunshine.

It sounds cheesy, I know. But what wasn't cheesy about a kiss? The cheesiness was what made it so special.

"All better now?" I teased lightly, still kind of in a daze.

"Definitely."


End file.
